


Wearing Thin

by strwbrryklly



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/F, Post-Season/Series 04, Rescue Missions, Reunions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-15
Updated: 2020-05-15
Packaged: 2021-03-02 23:28:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,574
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24195127
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/strwbrryklly/pseuds/strwbrryklly
Summary: Adora's lost everything.Catra's won it all.
Relationships: Adora & Glimmer (She-Ra), Adora/Catra (She-Ra), Catra & Glimmer (She-Ra)
Comments: 1
Kudos: 41





	Wearing Thin

**Author's Note:**

> i've had this in the works since just after season 4 came out, but only really had a lot of inspiration the past couple of days, which is why this might be a little messy, but i wanted to get it out before s5 (even if it's like 15 minutes before) and whatever theories and headcanons i have can get blown out of the water :P
> 
> title of the fic inspired by the dodie song 'sick of losing soulmates'.

It’s difficult, at first.

Fighting the Horde bots is pretty simple and predictable, once everyone learns their attack patterns. It takes a little longer for Adora to get into the swing of things, however, because one very powerful part of her kit is missing.

She-ra.

Adora finds herself grabbing at her wrist too many times to count, expecting to find a sword in her hand and feel the same rush of adrenaline through her body as she transforms. But instead of smooth metal she finds only the warm flesh of her arm, and a hollow feeling in her chest.

Too many times has she done this, only to be thrown backwards by a Horde bot, back slamming against the ground. She lies, winded, as the bot approaches her, towering above her and pointing its blaster in her direction. Adora is staring down the barrel of a gun when the bot freezes, crackling with electricity, before crashing to the ground in a heap of twisted steel, destroyed. Adora scrambles to her feet, relief washing through her with the thought that once again, Glimmer was there to save her life.

Then the second blow comes.

It’s never Glimmer.

Whichever face is staring her down, triumph in their eyes, Adora can’t celebrate with them. Bow’s chest heaves with exertion, Frosta cheers, Scorpia drags Entrapta and Emily into a group hug, Perfuma laughs, even Mermista cracks a smile as Sea Hawk drags her into the jubilee. Swift Wind nuzzles Adora’s shoulder, ever encouraging, but nothing’s registering except the ringing in her ears and the hollowness in her chest. She can’t muster up any enthusiasm, because the bots will keep coming; Horde Prime will keep bearing down on them until they perish or surrender, and she can’t do anything about it.

She starts to learn her limits as Adora compared to her powers and She-ra, and relearns how to play to her strengths. It reminds her too much of her time with the Horde, fighting with only a staff as a weapon, but there’s nothing more that she can do. It doesn’t get easier, exactly, but the pain dulls. She can ignore it, most of the time, until the wall breaks.

She’s lost two of the most important things in her life – the key to her powers, and her closest friend, the girl who showed her a world outside the Horde. No matter how many bots Adora destroys, or people she saves, she’ll never have them back. A part of her soul is gone, and there’s no healing the gaping wound in her heart where Glimmer used to be. She’s just going to continue bleeding out until there’s nothing left.

Or until she finds her fight again.

With their combination of knowledge of technology and experiences from inside the Horde, Bow, Entrapta and Scorpia help come up with a plan to get to Prime’s ship and take him down once and for all. She has the pressure of the world on her shoulders, to liberate Etheria and, in turn, the rest of the universe she has found herself responsible for. They infiltrate the ship, just the four of them, leaving the others to defend their home.

They’re on their way to the bridge of the ship, finding their way through narrow hallways and dark rooms, when they find a line of Horde bots, mangled and collapsed. Someone was here first.

Adora tries to ignore the spark in her chest, until she finds the culprit, and the fire comes to life.

Glimmer.

Her skin has lost its warmth and her hair its shine. Her eyes are rimmed by dark rings, but there’s the heat of determination on her face is achingly familiar. Heat that quickly melts into shock, before her eyes well with tears.

Adora’s legs carry her into Glimmer’s arms long before her brain registers the delighted sobbing being muffled into her shoulder.

They part, not a dry eye to be seen, and behind Glimmer, another figure steps from the shadows, cautious and unsure. Adora’s heart skips a beat.

The years of turmoil fall away, and Adora doesn’t see an enemy in front of her. She sees her first friend, her former teammate, the girl she fell in love with long before she understood the meaning of the word. Eyes that can see right through her, a tentative smile that has always taken her breath away, no matter the situation.

She’s been drowning for months, water filling her lungs, and choking her, but Adora thinks she’s finally found the surface. She takes a deep breath.

“Hey, Catra.”

* * *

It’s pretty easy, at first.

Catra plays the part of informant easily, working her way into Horde Prime’s inner circle with carefully chosen words. He’s more arrogant than Hordak, but she can work with that – stroke his ego, make him feel all-powerful and domineering. It feels a little too easy to do, but she’ll accept the acceptance she receives from him. Tells him about Etheria – its developments, its weak spots, its pathetic excuse for a Rebellion. He hangs onto every word, memorising every detail, and when the bots are deployed to take Etheria, it’s successful for the most part.

The princesses are a thorn in his side, but Catra knows them well enough too; knows they value each other more than they value victory. Target one, and the rest will fall apart and do whatever it takes to get them back, even if they lose the world in the process.

Her theory is proven right whenever the bots corner Adora, and Prime’s smile widens, pausing to plan his next course of action. He never has to think for long, because Glimmer comes forward every time, begging for her safety, willing to trade any information she has for Adora’s life.

Catra hopes Prime doesn’t notice her digging her nails into her palms, or the grit of her teeth every time he has Adora in clutches. She can’t help but be thankful when, like clockwork, Glimmer offers whatever she can to keep Adora’s heart beating every time.

Glimmer’s a coward, weakened by those she loves, but maybe Catra is too. It gets harder to stay silent every time Adora comes up on the Horde’s radar; one of these days Glimmer will have nothing left to use as leverage. One of these days, all the princesses will share a jail cell, or worse, meet their end.

Catra watches wave after wave of Horde bot slowly capture Etheria for Prime, and she can’t do it anymore. Being on this side of the action has lost all of its appeal, now that there’s nobody by her side.

When she visits Glimmer in her cell, the princess is sitting at the edge of her bed, shoulders hunched and, when she looks up, there’s nothing but defeat in her eyes. Catra’s seen that look too many times, from so many people she’s loved. From so many people she’s given up on.

“Here to brag about how I’ve lost my sparkle?” Glimmer asks, but the question isn’t even close to being as harsh as she intended. She leans back until she hits the mattress, and sighs.

“No.” Catra snaps, jumping to defend herself. Against what, she doesn’t know.

“Then why are you here?” All the spite Glimmer used to have in her voice when she talked to Catra in the past is gone. All that’s left is defeat.

Catra can’t answer her.

At least she can’t until the lights go red and a voice bellows about an intruder alert throughout the ship. She doesn’t know who it is, or how.

That’s what she tells Prime, anyway.

She also takes responsibility to guard the prisoner and make sure she doesn’t find a way to escape in the middle of this chaos the other princesses have caused. Instead, Catra will find one for her.

When Glimmer looks up, eyes round in shock as Catra deactivated the barrier between.

“C’mon, Sparkles. Your friends are here to see you.”

They’re both wary of each other at first – Glimmer’s waiting for Catra to betray her, and Catra’s waiting for Glimmer to abandon her. But neither follow through, and they both make their way through the halls, using Catra’s brute force and whatever little magic Glimmer has left to overpower the bots that appear in their way.

A particularly difficult struggle ends just as four people burst through the door, and from behind Glimmer, Catra recognises them all immediately. The boy Catra has always seen behind the princesses’ sides, wielding a bow and loosing arrows left and right. The girl who helped her fulfill all her dreams, before she helped try to stop her in her tracks. The girl who was once loyal to her to a fault, eyes gleaming with a newfound power. And finally, the girl running into Glimmer’s arms, the girl who used to hold Catra instead, and the voice in the back of Catra’s voice wants Adora back with her where she belongs. Where she’s always belonged, after the years of distance and hatred between them.

She steps out of the shadow as the two in front of her break apart, and Adora finally meets her eyes. The resentment that’s been built between them isn’t there, and Adora doesn’t look like a foe, ready to take her down. She looks like the same girl who Catra’s adored for as long as she can remember.

Catra clears her throat, voice shaking.

“Hey, Adora.”

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading!
> 
> if you want to get updates about projects in the works, see what else i'm a fan of at the moment, or are interested in supporting me, feel free to follow me @strwbrryklly on twitter and tumblr!


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